SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
It may be Canada 150 this year but for several of Yellowknife's oldest buildings, it's Yellowknife 80.

The Wildcat Cafe, built in 1937, was the city's first permanent restaurant. It served meals for $1, according to local historian Ryan Silke. It is one of four iconic buildings in the city marking 80 years of existence this year. - John McFadden/NNSL photo Yellowknife's original schoolhouse is this log cabin which sits between Mildred Hall School and the Yellowknife District No. 1 board office. It too is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year.- John McFadden/NNSL photo The Weaver & Devore general store has been at current location since 1961. Warehouses beside the store were built in 1937.- John McFadden/NNSL photo Bullocks Bistro operates in the Old Town building that was once the Weaver and Devore store. The restaurant moved to current location from Latham Island in 1998 - John McFadden/NNSL photo

Four structures are turning 80-years old in 2017 and two of them are arguably the city's most iconic restaurants: The Wildcat Cafe and Bullocks' Bistro.

Wildcat

According to local historian Ryan Silke, who helped compile a history of dozens of heritage buildings in Yellowknife, the Wildcat Cafe's history has had its ups and downs.

It was built in Old Town in 1937 as the first permanent restaurant operation in Yellowknife. Back then, according to Silke, the cafe served "good meals" for one dollar.

"It hosted many community events including a war veterans banquet on Nov. 11, 1939, when the cafe was able to obtain a liquor permit," Silke stated in a city document detailing the city's heritage buildings. "This also marks the earliest record of a licensed drinking function in Yellowknife, as liquor laws in the NWT were very strict at the time."

Also in 1939, the business was sold and the new owners added an ice-cream and soft-drink parlour, according to Silke. The cafe was sold again in 1941 to Mah Gow, believed to be the first Chinese entrepreneur in the community.

The cafe was reportedly quite successful in the post-Second World War gold rush but business began to slow with the development of the new downtown core. Many Old Town businesses were forced to relocate or close down.

In 1951, Gow shuttered the cafe and left Yellowknife, leaving the building to be used for storage, most likely. It fell into disrepair and was at least twice slated for demolition.

In 1976, a confectionery stand called the "Wild Kitten" opened, and by 1979 the Wildcat Cafe was back. Since then, the symbol of Yellowknife's frontier spirit has undergone extensive renovations and repairs, including $400,000 worth of work completed in 2013.

Bullocks'

The Old Town building which currently houses Bullock's Bistro did not start out as a restaurant, according to Silke. The log cabin was believed to have been built in 1937 and initially housed Weaver & Devore Trading Ltd. The cabin was added onto in 1938 and the Weaver family lived upstairs for a time.

Weaver & Devore eventually relocated to its current site across the street from Bullocks' in 1961, according to documents on the city's website, leaving the original building to deteriorate.

It wasn't until the mid-1990s the building that would become Bullocks' Bistro was fixed up and turned into a gift shop called The Willows.

In 1998, Sam and Renata Bullock relocated their Latham Island restaurant to its current location. It became a very popular eatery for both locals and tourists alike specializing in fresh fish.

A side porch entrance was added in 2011. In April of last year, the Bullocks sold the restaurant to its current owners - longtime Yellowknife couple Mark Elson and Jo-Ann Martin.

Weaver & Devore

Across the street from Bullocks' Bistro is the current Weaver & Devore business.

The family-run general store was established by Harry Weaver and Ellis "Bud" Devore, fur traders from Peace River, Alta.

"The original warehouses were built in 1937 to accommodate the Mining Corporation of Canada company, which arrived in the city that year to begin a gold development on Gordon Lake," stated Silke. "The warehouses were sold to Weaver and Devore which relocated their store to the site in 1961."

Those original structures, adjacent to the current store, are now used for storage.

Yk's first schoolhouse

Another historic building turning 80 this year is the log cabin that served as Yellowknife's first schoolhouse.

Originally located in Old Town, it was occupied by the Mining Corporation of Canada. In January 1939, the school board acquired the cabin on a rental basis to be used as a semi-permanent school. In March of that year, Mildred Hall arrived in Yellowknife to become the town's full-time teacher. The first year of school ended in June of 1939 with nine graduates.

"There was a challenge to operating a school in Old Town in the late 1930s and that was because it was close to what was known as the Glamour Alley District," Silke stated.

"That led to drunk miners regularly snooping around the school property."

The school moved to a larger building the next school year. The cabin then housed a laundry business and was used as a residence. Its occupants after 1940 are not entirely clear.

In 1987, because of the building's history, the cabin was moved from Old Town to 53 Street and designated a city heritage building in 1988.

In 2000, the cabin was moved to its current location adjacent to Mildred Hall School and the Yellowknife District No. 1 board office. The cabin has been restored to provide tours of early education in Yellowknife.

There are plans to eventually use it as a museum of the city's early educational history.

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